A Quote by James R. Newman on dignity, diplomacy, economics, mathematics, purpose, respect, and rumor

Mathematical economics is old enough to be respectable, but not all economists respect it. It has powerful supporters and impressive testimonials, yet many capable economists deny that mathematics, except as a shorthand or expository device, can be applied to economic reasoning. There have even been rumors that mathematics is used in economics (and in other social sciences) either for the deliberate purpose of mystification or to confer dignity upon common places as French was once used in diplomatic communications.

James R. Newman

Source: J. R. Newman (ed.) The World of Mathematics, New Yorl: Simon and Schuster, 1956.